Florida author’s tales of HOA mayhem

A satire on Florida homeowner association takes readers on a humorous journey into the unpredictable world of homeowners’ associations through the eyes of a property manager.

“The HOA Chronicles: A Cautionary Tale of Mismanagement, Mishaps, and Mayhem” by Trudy Jean Evans is out as of Jan. 30.

Evans grew up in St. Louis but has lived in South Florida since 1981 in the Coral Springs area and then Orlando. She is the founder of The Raven Group, Inc., a leadership coaching, consulting and training company, for which she previously wrote two non-fiction leadership-geared books. During this time, Evans also served on two different homeowners association boards – an experience that became the driving force behind her latest, and first fiction book, “The HOA Chronicles.”

The first community board Evans served on was for a 95-home property with limited amenities and few problems. “We didn’t have too many shenanigans,” she said.

When she moved to a bigger community, this was not the case. HOA antics ensued.

“I recruited four other people and ran against the existing board and out seated them,” Evans said. “The next two years I was on the board, and people would fuss about the craziest things.”

Removing deer from the grounds, caterpillars on the porch — these were real things community members complained about.

“When I did not get reelected, I decided, ‘You know what? I’m going to write about it and I can really make fun of it,’” Evans said.

Drawing inspiration from favorite authors Carl Hiaasen and Dave Berry, Evans began writing down funny HOA anecdotes. “I would go into my office and write and laugh, and write and laugh,” she said. “I wanted to create characters where people would say, ‘I think I know who that is!’”

Each vignette is about a different HOA mishap, told through the perspective of a property manager, a character loosely based on Evans. 

“I’m quick to stop a book if I get bored so I wanted it to get funnier as the book went on and I wanted the stories to get crazier as I went,” she said.

As her first foray into fiction, “The HOA Chronicles” is intended for a much different audience than her first two leadership books; although, writing this one was “A heck of a lot more fun,” she said.

“The HOA Chronicles: A Cautionary Tale of Mismanagement, Mishaps, and Mayhem,” Jan. 30, 2025, paperback: $14.95.